This in Ohio. Im not sure what the exact taxes on the estate are. This all started long before I met my girlfriend so I dont pry for details. From what shes told me, every six months they collect a tax on the estate, presumably based on the value of the assets. The estate lawyers are charging her fees every time taxes are collected, I guess for filing all the paperwork. I think they also have to provide reasons to the state or county why the estate isnt settled yet, which is more fees. All assets have been distributed. The last step was to be my girlfriend buying out her sister for the house. She gave the lawyers the check last fall, which they were to hand over to the sister, and there are no further assets to distribute.
I am not familiar with Ohio law, but here in Texas we don't have any tax that would be collected on an estate of that size, and nothing else that I can think of that would be collected every six months, other than the court charging additional fees where there is a delay in filing the inventory, appraisement and list of claims. In fact, it is common here to not officially close an estate handled by independent administration. Once the inventory is approved and the property has gone to the right people, many courts leave it at that, even though there is a procedure to officially "close" an estate.
The firm dealing with the insurance is representing my girlfriend, I believe, because she and her sister were the benefactors, not the estate. My understanding is they are also the firm that represents the lawyer of the other guy, but not actually the guy himself. Im not sure on the details there; they just sent her a letter disclosing it and said that it is not a conflict of interest. They only now disclosed it even though the lawyer was their client for the entire past 2.5yrs. She was supposed to call both firms today to get some answers, Ill see what happened. She doesnt really want to get any other firms involved, shes had enough from her current two, and just wants to get things wrapped up. Thanks for the general commentary :). Sounds like going to the bar might be the best option.
Sorry, I misread that the first time. I wouldn't necessarily be happy with it, but it may not be a conflict of interest. A lot more facts would be necessary to make that call.
What is their fee agreement?
It sounds like she just needs to pressure them for answers and hold off on the bar thing
if she wants them to continue working on it*, especially if she has nothing solid to base a grievance on. I don't know what all she can do in Ohio, but here in Texas as an uninformed client, I'd ask for a written status report on the case, copies of correspondence with the other side, copies of pleadings, discovery (assuming it wouldn't be voluminous), and when (or if) they plan on going to trial.
Save the bar grievance for something serious. Without knowing anything about the case or what the attorneys have done so far, I'd only be speculating as to what they may have done wrong, but the "time" issue alone is probably not that bad.
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* I wouldn't feel very good about working for someone who threatened me with going to the state bar just because they thought I was "taking too long." Most of the work we do takes a long time because it is complicated - nearly every case is different, laws constantly change and are not always well-written, procedural and regulatory requirements multiply like bunnies, we can only read so fast and our brains are only so big. I've had a few clients get mad about how long something was taking. On rare occasions, I may have been so busy that I just couldn't get their work out as fast as they wanted, in which case I'd apologize and maybe even provide a significant discount. 99% of the time I get the complaint, I have to explain to the client that they have failed to provide me with information I requested numerous times then prepare them a multi-page, single-spaced statement detailing everything I have done along with a fee that reflects the full amount of work done to date.
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Advice to anyone using a lawyer: Most lawyers will try to keep you up to date about your file - especially if there is regular billing to be done. Most of us are juggling many files/cases at the same time and some require much more attention than others. If you haven't heard from your lawyer in a while, give a them a polite call to see what's going on. I always take client calls and return them immediately if I missed them. Many other lawyers are the same way. Sometimes the "quiet" files get overlooked. It never hurts to check on them. It sure beats waiting a year, then complaining that the lawyer didn't do anything, only to find out he thought he was waiting for you to bring in additional information, or worse (and this has happened to me) the client moved without providing a new phone number or address.
